Nightmare World
by JokersWitch
Summary: Author's Note: Okay, this is my first time publishing a story, so I don't know if I put it in the correct category. Other than that, I hope you enjoy this story of mine. Thank you for any feedback. On one fateful day, Nova's world is turned inside-out and she's left on her own to find out how to fix it. Who is it that did this to her? Maybe she'll never know.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Nova Anne Sapphira Brighid, Nova for short, and this is my life. I believe I'll start with my death. I had been walking on a small path on a cliff near the mall. I was going to the abandoned hot spring at the end of the path, but stopped half-way there and looked down at the end of this cliff. Below me was a field of hydrangeas, the flower of our town, and a small forest just beyond them. I had always loved those flowers, they seemed to give me peace and happiness on a dreary day, but I continued to walk after a few minutes of gazing out. I was going to meet my boyfriend, Shiki, at the hot spring so we could compare notes.

You see, we both had a fascination with the undead; zombies, vampires, and anything else that walked after death was interesting to us. Shiki had found a journal a few months back detailing a recipe to resurrect the dead. It took us a long while, but we had gotten it to work using the hydrangeas of our town. We only knew it worked because we used it on a stray dog we found lying on the road. We didn't have any right to mess with a dead animal's life, but we did it anyway, because we were stupid teenagers. After we perfected the potion to its best, we each got half a glass full and drank it ourselves, that way we could have a second chance if we died unnaturally.

Anyway, I was walking along when, out of the blue, I heard someone yelling at the top of their lungs from the top of the cliff. I looked up just in time to see a large rock raining down on me. Before I could do anything, I started the slow fall down off the path I had previously been grounded on. It felt slow, but I knew it was instantaneous. I looked up at the sky then tore my body sideways to face the ground. I was headed straight for the pointed rocks near the bottom of the cliff and could do nothing but stare. It was painful, yet not at the same time. All of a sudden, I felt a hot, burning sensation diagonally across my stomach. One of those pointed rocks had pierced deep into me and tore straight through, yet I continued down, down into the field of flowers and landed squarely on my front.

It was very cold, and I felt as if my soul tried with all it could to escape this corpse, but in vain. The potion took affect and I slowly opened my eyes and did my best to move around. I heard Shiki yelling and the sliding of rocks, but all I could focus on was the cold and how hard it was to move. I finally rose and turned to look at Shiki, who had slid down that deadly cliff to get to me. I stared at him, staggering about, yet still perfectly fine. He stared at me with a face only made by those who have seen death come and go, so I looked down to see the gash in my stomach had leaves all in it, making it seem like they were trying to hide my pain. I couldn't feel the pain, but I could see it, my innards trying their damnedest to pop out of my stomach. I did my best to stop them, but my intestines slid out and hung right under my pelvis. It was then that I passed out.

"Nova! Please, Nova, wake up, for god's sake!" I heard Shiki yell out to me and I felt a tug on my sleeve. I opened my eyes a sliver and turned my head to gaze up at him. His face was that of a gleeful child, as if he had just gotten a bag of candy for Valentine's. I slowly raised myself up on my elbows and gazed down at my exposed intestines. For some reason or another I felt nothing as I continued to stare at my stomach; however, Shiki was more than happy to feel concern and panic enough for the both of us. I sighed and stood up to look around at our surroundings.

Somehow, he'd dragged my corpse back to my house with no one noticing us and we were now situated comfortably in my bedroom. Luckily for us, my younger brother was at a friend's house and I didn't have parents anymore. Thankful that no one was here, I journeyed to the kitchen with a disgusting 'splock' sound with every step. I found the first aid kit and opened it to find what I needed to sew myself up. I also got a wash cloth and some soap and began to disinfect the gash on my body after shoving my innards back into my body. I decided to go back up and enlist Shiki's help with the sewing.

I found him stumbling about in a stupor as he tried to find an extra pair of clothing for myself. He found a pair of nightclothes for me and took the sewing material from me and went to sit on the chair at my desk. I stared at him for a while then went to the bathroom to change into the short, white dress and undergarments he had pulled from my dresser. As I stepped back into my room, I found him staring at me with a sad look. I took the sewing materials and raised my dress to begin the process of piecing myself back together. He stayed silent the entire time, only moving to hold the skin together. After that, I used the gauze and wrapped it around the entirety of the where the gash was placed, making my pale, nearly white skin even more obvious. I had no pulse, no heat, nothing that a normal, living person had.

"Shiki, are you okay? I can handle this, you know. I am the one who perfected the notes, so I can keep myself from rotting," I said quietly, looking at him blankly. Then, all of a sudden, he exploded with rage and sadness. He took me by my shoulders and shook me with all his might.

"Nova, how can you be so calm?! You're dead! You don't have a heartbeat; you're freezing cold; you shouldn't be all calm and collected like this! You need to be panicked and not so…so…ugh!" he yelled pushing me to the side and stomping out the door. I stayed still and heard the front door slam loudly, but all I could do was sit and stare out window, watching him run away from my house. I thought that maybe I should cry and run after him, but not a single tear fell from my face. I got up and went to my desk to re-read the notes from the journal. I had to brush up on everything so I wouldn't rot away.

"To keep the resurrected person from rotting away, they must do as follows.

1. Get plenty of exercise.

2. Eat only hydrangea leaves or raw meat, as these are the only things that can be digested.

3. Avoid very hot places and only enter them if completely necessary.

4. Keep them at a cool temperature and keep a watchful eye on them for any odd occurrences.

If all of these guidelines are followed, the resurrected person will not rot for many years and will stay alive much longer than those who live. The person can no longer mature after death, but the hair and nails will continue to grow, so proper measures must be taken to keep the person hygienic and have them appear living." It was basic stuff, so I shouldn't have any trouble with it. The only problem was keeping my younger brother, Seref, from freaking out if he finds out.

"No, I need to tell him straight up and explain as best I can," I convinced myself just as I heard the front door open and close and heard Seref yelling 'Hey' like he always did. I calmed myself and tidied up my room and cleaned up all the blood I could and went to greet Seref. He waved at me and smiled brightly. I hate when he does that, especially when I needed to tell him something like this.

"Seref, I need to tell you something," I said as calmly as I could. His smile vanished as he saw my pale complexion. Before he could say a word, I lead him to the living room and sat him down on the couch, seating myself on the recliner across from him. Slowly but surely, all of it came spilling out and I felt a large weight come off my shoulders as I finished. He stared at me, gaping, and I could only wait until he said something. It was obviously taking him a while to comprehend everything, since I had been sitting in silence for quite a few minutes now.

It had been fifteen minutes already, when he suddenly shot up and came over to me. He grabbed my hand and checked for a pulse, I guess to make sure I was joking. I let my arm fall back to my side as he gazed at my eyes. I had seen them in the mirror when I had changed, but I was less than surprised. They had turned a pale blue, almost as if I had gone blind, and they seem bigger than my old dark green ones before my death. He placed his hand on my dusty, dark purple hair and seemed to thread it in his hand so as to calm himself.

"Nova…how could this have happened to you? Who threw that dumb rock down that cliff at you? Tell me, please," he seemed to plead as he fell into me and began to silently cry. I stayed quiet, but I did my best to try and remember who it was that had yelled at me from the top of that cliff. I remember only one thing, one thing that chilled me to the bone, even in death. In the gleam of the sun, I had seen a ring, a ring which belongs to only one person. My parents, who hadn't been around since the death of my father. His death, which had been made by my hands.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Seref, I need you to stay here, just in case someone comes by to ask about me," I said over my shoulder as I started to leave the house. I only heard a faint okay before I closed the door and journeyed to Shiki's house. It was the next day and I wanted to straighten stuff out with him before I left. It was pretty sunny out, so I took an umbrella with me, but I was still feeling the cold pretty bad and had put on a short, black dress before realizing I would feel for the rest of my undead life. I didn't have any more time left, though, so I rushed out of the house.

I was standing in front of his house now, and I probably looked insane to have an umbrella and a black dress on, but ignored the odd stares and rang the doorbell. I heard some shuffling around and the door opened up to Lyla, Shiki's mom. I did my best to act normal, but she saw right through me and dragged me inside, all the way up to Shiki's room. She left me standing there awkwardly as he threw open his door.

"You okay, Nova?" he asked me. He'd invited me in and we were sitting down, enjoying the breeze that wafted into the room through his window. He still seemed pissed at me, though I didn't know why. I could only nod and stare at the floor, pretending that it was more interesting than the conversation. I heard him sigh heavily and saw his feet at the edge of my vision. I forced myself to look up and stare into his eyes. He was indeed pissed, but also sad.

"Shiki, I'm sorry, but I'm doing my best to stay calm and figure this all out. I have a good idea of who killed me, but I don't want you to be mad at me. I also don't need your pity," I said, standing up and facing him face-to-face. He smiled and patted me in the head.

"Now that's the Nova I know. Alright, tell me everything; I want to help you the best I can," he said sitting down on his bed and looking up at me. I complied and told him what I had thought the night before. He rubbed his temples and seemed to put all his effort into sorting everything out.

"So, you think your mom sent you of that cliff to get back at you for killing your dad? Why and how did she find you? I thought you moved here to run away from her," he said finally after a few minutes. I hadn't thought about that, but decided now would be the best time to.

"She did swear she would get back at me, no matter the cost. I suppose she meant it literally. She loved him a lot, so it makes sense that she would come here all the way from England," I said aloud, more talking to myself than talking to Shiki, though he did nod in agreement. My mother was clinically insane and I had inherited that, so it makes complete since she would do just what I suggested. I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. I never wanted to remember that horrid night.

"Shiki, I need to go. I have to find my mother and come to terms with what happened. I just need you to look after Seref for now, okay? I have plenty of funds to get over to wherever it is she ran off to," I said calmly. 'The only problem is finding her,' I thought to myself. Shiki seemed to have the same thought and stared thoughtfully out the window.

"It's probably better if we ask around the town. Maybe someone might've seen her last night, though it was pretty late, so I wouldn't be surprised if no one saw her at all," he said matter-of-factly. I didn't want him to say that, but he was right. I couldn't just give up, though, so I decided that I would go around town that afternoon to ask everyone if they'd seen her. Until then, I needed to get Seref situated just in case I needed to go on a trip.

"Alright, I'm heading home. Meet me in the square at two, okay?" I said, just about to leave Shiki's house. He smiled, nodded, and waved goodbye and I left for home. It seemed like such a long way, now that I was aware that my mother had killed me. 'Maybe this is the way she felt after I killed dad,' I thought. That made me stop on my doorstep and it forced me to remember that night. The night that I had killed father and gotten away with it.

It was a night just like the one I had died on. I was going to go confront my father about the abuse of Seref. I had found out that he had been physically and mentally driving Seref into a corner simply because that was the only way to relieve the stress of his life. It didn't help that mother was a mess, having just found out she was clinically insane and being sent to a mental hospital for therapy. Tomorrow, Seref and I were going there to find out if we had inherited her insanity, but I dreaded that day, so I pushed out of my thoughts. Now was the time I could confront father about everything and get him to stop without mom raining hate on me. She had always been obsessed with father and hated anyone who hated him with a burning passion, even her own family.

I had just arrived at our doorstep here at the mansion in this desolate England road. I opened the door just enough to slide in and closed it as gently as I possibly could. I'd rather dad not be in an angry mess before we even started talking, and Seref was at a friend's house, so he was safe from harm. I found dad in the study scribbling away on some document form work. I only had to stay calm and keep my temper down, else something bad happen.

_"Dad, can I talk to you about something? It's really important," I stated clearly, yet not loud enough to yell. He sighed heavily and laid his pen on the desk. He slowly rose from his chair and turned to me. I could tell he didn't like my little interruption, so I decided to make this quick._

_"Dad, I'd like for you to stop abusing Seref," I said, grounding myself so I wouldn't slip up. I needed this to go smoothly. His breathing seemed to quicken and he started to fidget. This wasn't a good sign. He usually did this whenever he was about to lash out at someone, physically or not._

_"Whoever told you that, dear? You know I love Seref, don't you?" he whispered in the air, taking a few steps towards me. I did my best to stand still, but I couldn't help myself from leaning back a bit. A 40-year-old man against a 14-year-old girl? That was an obvious winner._

_"I heard mom mumbling about it and asked around your office. I have enough information to put you away for child-abuse, unless you swear to stop it," I was wavering now. He had gotten a few feet closer to me as I had talked and I was feeling the fear welling within me. He grimaced and a few beads of sweat trickled down his already sweaty face._

_In a flash, he had slammed the door behind me shut and pinned me against it. I wasn't able to do anything, and simply stood there like an idiot. He leaned in closer to me, but I registered what was happening and screamed as loud as I could muster, probably almost bursting his ear-drums. He stumbled back and clawed at his ears, which gave me a chance to fling open the door and run out into the living room. I was just about to open the front door when I felt a massive embrace come from behind me._

_"Where are you going, darling? I wanted to play for a bit!" he exclaimed right at my ear. I did my best to shove him away, but he still managed to shove me onto the coffee table and pin me down. My wrists were being held down by one of his hands and I felt his other hand wander down to the bottom of my shirt. I stared into his eyes, eyes full of lust, as he reached under my shirt around to the back of it, doing his best to undo my bra with one hand. He was obviously having trouble with it, so I took this opportunity to knee right in the groin with as much force as I could muster. He let out a little yelp and fell down to the ground beside the table._

_I leapt up and ran to the kitchen, racing for the landline. By the time I got there, I heard him scramble around, trying to get to me before I called the police. I hesitated for a second too long, though, and he ran in and shoved me to the side. 'I'm done with this creep,' I thought angrily. I yanked open the knives drawer and found one of our cheese knives that we never used, so it was sharp as could be. I whipped around and pointed it straight at him._

_"Now's your last chance, father. Swear that you'll never lay another finger on Seref, or anyone else, and I'll let you slide!" I practically yelled at him. He only grimaced at me again and lunged forward, aiming to throw the knife aside and lay his grubby hands all over me. 'Not this time,' I stabbed the knife straight into his stomach and pulled it right back out, watching him stumble about before crashing down onto the floor._

_I took this time to straddle his chest and raise the knife above my head before bringing down back into his stomach. I heard the squelching sound of meat and he let out a blood spattered gasp. I repeated this again and again for who knows how long and started to enjoy myself as I turned his stomach, abdomen, and chest cavity into a mush of blood and guts. I grinned madly and he reached for just as I stabbed him one last time. I heard bone crack and blood was spurted all over me, but it was done. He was finally out of our lives and we could be free. I stood up and wobbled over to the couch, leaving the rotting mess that was my father lying in a pool of decay on the kitchen floor. I laughed and laughed until I couldn't even stand. I slumped down into the couch and smiled even wider at every memory of his death. I soon fell asleep having one last thought in my mind. 'I truly am my mother's daughter.'_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Seref, I'm back!" I yelled as I stepped into the house. I saw him racing from the kitchen and coming to a halt in front of me. He looked as happy as could be and I couldn't help feeling a little depressed at the fact that I might have to go on a trip to find mom. I smiled back at him and set about packing up a few necessities just in case and telling him everything that went on while I was out.

"Hey, did anyone come by the house while I was out?" I asked over my shoulder. He was fiddling with his thumbs in the doorway when I turned around to face him. I suddenly became concerned, since he was obviously not telling me something. I went over to him and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look up at me. He cracked under my intense gaze and dropped his arms.

"Yeah, a man came by and said he really needed to see you. I told him you were out and might not be back for a while, so he gave me this card and said he would come back tomorrow," he pulled a business card out from his pocket and showed it to me. It read 'Scientist Lerus' and a number, but that was it. I took it from him and flipped it over to the back, but it was blank, just as expected.

I was obviously worrying Seref by being so quiet, but I was trying to figure out what a scientist would want with me. All of a sudden, it hit me. 'He must have seen Shiki carrying me home last night and came here to confirm whether or not I was alive,' I thought. 'It could be that he wants to study me and see how I'm still alive, maybe even coax me into giving away the recipe for the potion,' I shook myself and handed the card back to Seref.

"Burn this, and if he comes back, pretend like you've never even seen him. Maybe he'll understand that we don't want him here," I tried to convince myself. He seemed to have come to the same conclusion and journeyed to the kitchen for the lighter. I heard a click and the crackling of fire, which calmed me immensely. I went back inside my room and grabbed my messenger bag of necessities. It was almost two and I needed to get going. The square was a short walk from the house, but didn't want to run into that scientist here at home.

"I'm going out, but don't expect me home for a while. I have my phone, so call me if anything happens, especially if Lerus comes here, okay?" I stated, just about to step out again for the second time that day. He nodded firmly and I closed the door for the last time. I walked slowly enough so that, when I arrived at the square, it was ten minute 'til two. I sighed heavily and sat down on a bench next to the fountain. I still had my umbrella with me, but the dew collecting around the fountain gave off a cool air. I wasn't able to sleep anymore, but I knew anyone else sitting here would have.

"Hey! How are you holding up? You haven't been waiting long, have you?" I heard Shiki from my left. I had been fiddling with my phone when he'd shown up kind of out of breath. I smiled and stood up, placing my phone in my bag. I was curious as to why he was gasping for air, but figured he'd tell me in a bit. He grabbed my hand and began marching off in a random direction, almost as if he was trying to get away from something, or someone.

It was five now, and we'd gone all over town asking anyone if they'd seen my mother. The only information we'd gotten was that some people saw a frail figure running off to the outskirts of town late last night, but that was all we had. We were just about to head off in the same direction when there was blaring siren coming from behind us.

I quickly pulled Shiki into a side alley, trying not to fling him across the road since my brain limiters were no longer. We heard quite a commotion and some people were yelling. I heard one distinct line before we ran down one of the branching paths of the alley. I'd heard someone yell out 'Find that girl, she is a fine specimen and must be handled gently. I will not allow her to escape!', but couldn't get anything else before I was pulled along by Shiki.

"We need to get you out of here, Nova. I'll get you to the outskirts of town and distract them if I need to. They're bound to be guarding all the exits," he huffed as we ran. We were really deep into the maze of alleys, but Shiki had lived here all his life, so he knew this town inside and out. I was worried about Seref, but this wasn't the time for that and put all of my focus on getting away from this place.

We soon came to the exit that the figure had apparently left by, but, just as Shiki had suspected, men were standing guard, holding batons like they were about to pounce. Shiki pulled me to the side and inched his way along the wall that served as a barrier between the town and the outside world. We came to stop right before the opening out and were about to make a run for it when one of the men spotted us and leapt forward, blocking passage out. I heard Shiki grunt as he grabbed one of the loose bricks on the wall and threw it at the man. He was too bothered by blocking the brick to notice Shiki getting through the entrance with me in tow and hiding on the curve of the wall.

"Alright, Nova, you make a run for. Go to the elderly couple that lives a little ways down the road and stay with them. Tell them Shiki sent you and that you only need to stay for a while. They'll understand if you explain yourself," he said, looking out at the man who was swearing up and down that we were there just a minute ago to the other man at the entrance, who had apparently been napping.

"What about you? They'll take you in and do Lord knows what to you. I won't let that happen, I can take them out! I can't just let you and Seref be taken in for being involved with me!" I exclaimed, pulling him to face me. He gave me a sad smile and pushed me gently away before running off and screaming like a madman. I did my best to not run after him and took off down the road away from my only home left towards an unknown. I heard a scream that sounded too much like Shiki not to be him and tore down the road with all I had. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' I repeated in my head the whole time I ran away. I will never forgive myself for what happened and wish with everything I have that I'd just turned back and given myself up, but I just kept running and running until I reached that house and collapsed onto the porch in a mess.

"Are you alright, dear? You seem very distressed," I heard a small voice from behind me. I was sitting on the porch steps of that house I had come to and turned my head to glance back at the door. There was an elderly woman standing in the doorway with a confused yet worried look upon her features. I gave a small smile and stood up to face her. I gave a small nod in response to her previous question and stepped forward to explain myself.

The next thing I knew, I was seated at their kitchen table and be asked all these questions on how Shiki was and what was going on. I had explained everything that had happened starting from my death and going to what Shiki had told me to tell them, even telling them about Lerus and what I'd heard as I had been running here. They had told me that they were his grandparents and only lived out here because they couldn't take the clogged air of the town, what with all the people there. I could only nod to their questions and say yes or no, but their excitement overwhelmed me and I began to see light in my situation. I just had to keep up hope that everyone was okay.

"Excuse me, but did you happen to see a woman come by here, maybe last night or early this morning? She's kind of frail and around 40-ish," I asked after answering many of their questions. The woman became quiet and took on a thoughtful look while the man got up to refill his coffee cup. I could see how they were Shiki's grandparents, since he held many features similar to the woman and the man reminded me of his mother. I was so deep in thought of the similarities that I jumped slightly at the banging on the front door. I got up to answer it, but the man beat me to it and I was shoved into a side room by the woman. She held a finger to her lips and quietly closed the door.

I heard some shuffling around and a loud bang as the front door was slammed shut. There was a clumping of boots and they stopped in front of the door. I panicked and quickly hid myself in a narrow drawer, doing my best to close it when the door flung open. I froze, leaving a small gap open so I could see the ceiling fan twirling away. 'Being a corpse isn't so bad, since it doesn't feel uncomfortable in this small drawer. I would definitely feel cramped in here if my sense of feel wasn't dulled,' I thought absent-mindedly to myself. I knew one thing I would have to be careful of, though. Staying in the drawer for too long would start up the rigor mortis and I wouldn't be able to eat the hydrangea leaves I'd stowed away in a small waist satchel before leaving to meet Shiki earlier that afternoon. I also still had my messenger bag on my shoulder, though I had, thankfully, put my phone on silent before stowing myself away in here.

"Excuse me, madam, but may I ask what's in this drawer?" I heard a deep voice come from right outside the drawer I was in. I noticed that the light filtering in from the gap had become blocked by a large shadow, so I was now in complete darkness. I heard a small answer come from the old woman, something along the lines of 'That's my undergarments drawer', which earned a small, muffled giggle from me. I suddenly felt a jolt as the drawer slid shut. 'Damn, he closed the drawer. Still glad I'm a corpse and don't need air, but I won't be able to get out now,' I cursed to myself. I heard the boots clomping out and muffled talking somewhere outside the room. Once I heard the front door close, I shuffled around inside the drawer, trying my best to wriggle free.

Then, just as sudden as I started to move, I stopped suddenly enough to freak me out. 'Oh no! Not now, not now!' I did my best try and move, but it had already started. I did my best to yell out, but could only make odd noises. I did it enough so as to draw attention from the old man. I did my best to ask him to get my leaves and he seemed to get the gist of what I was mumbling about. It was super hard trying to eat the leaves with a frozen mouth, but I finally did and popped out of the drawer, letting out a big breath. The old man smiled at me, patted me on the back, and left to get something to eat.

"Nova, dear, I think I remember seeing a woman running by earlier this morning," I heard the woman call from the room doorway and turned to look at her in happiness. She smiled at my glowing face and explained to me that a fragile-looking woman had run past here and stayed for a few hours, saying that she needed to get back to Italy, which is where she had apparently been living as of recent. I nodded excitedly, knowing that traveling there would be a great pleasure and quite easy, especially since I still had quite a few hundred thousand left over from the money I'd gotten after the death of father and mother had been taken full-time into the mental hospital. Now was the time to go after her and set everything straight. Maybe after all of this, I could possibly pass on peacefully and have a safe life set out for Seref. If only that's what actually happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I had stayed the night at the old couple's house and was ready to set out for the airport. The man had called one of his good friends down here so as to take me there and I was giving a last goodbye hug to old woman. She gave me a warm smile and got into the man's friend's car, buckling in and looking over at him. He seemed much younger than the old man, but still had a wise look in his eyes. He patted my shoulder and started up the car, backing out of the driveway and taking off to the north. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw the elderly couple waving as we sped off.

"So, what is it that made you run from home?" the young man said, staring straight on. I took the time to look him over fully, trying to judge if I should trust him or not. After a while of silence, he chuckled in a low tone and glanced over at me. I had become disconcerted by his cheery tone and scooted ever closer to the window at my side. All at once, there was a loud thump from the back seat and quickly glanced back only to see a flash of black and quickly lost sight. I flailed about violently and felt someone try to restrain me, but let forth all of my strength and heard an audible crack, quickly followed by a short scream.

I quickly broke off the side door and leapt from the car, thanking the heavens that I hadn't trusted that man with my possessions. I quickly leapt to my feet, regaining my vision ever so slowly and looked around. I was in a small field, surrounded by sparse grass and grand trees. I quickly grabbed the nearest one and climbed up, so as to get a better perspective. I couldn't help but feel light-headed at the height of which I stood when I reached a good enough perch. I was in a bit of a dead area, only seeing a small town while away to the north, but didn't want to risk running into the man there. I searched some more and saw another town straight ahead of me, which would be west.

"Thank goodness!" I exclaimed aloud. I leapt from the tall perch, hitting the ground rather hard, but staying balanced on my feet. Before I set out west, though, I took out my phone and checked for connection. Sighing in disappointment, I closed my phone and placed it back in my bag, turning back to the west. Setting off, I started to feel agitation starting to erupt within me. I soon set off at a fast walk, turning to a jog, and then finally running full out, trying to out run my anger. All the while, I was running through the previous events in my head, trying to figure out all that had happened.

"That's it!" I yelled out, reaching the entrance of the town, yet stopping short before stepping foot within it. I had figured out all I needed to and replayed everything again within my head. 'The man must have met with one of the lackey's of Lerus before leaving for old couples house and let him into the car. The lackey stayed in the back of the car, being told about me and wanting to subdue me once we got far enough away the house. That also explains why that young man chuckled so cheerily while I was judging him, because he knew that the man was in the back, waiting for me in the back seat,' I thought, though I knew it was merely a theory. I shook my head and chuckled at the sound of the bone cracking when I had broken that man's arm. He must have also sprayed something in my eyes, so as to make me blind and be unable to see his face.

"Madam, are you going to just stand there and think, or are you coming into town?" I heard a scratchy voice from the entrance to the town. I looked up and saw an officer standing there, holding onto a lever that was obviously holding up the gate. I gave a small smile and walked forward just enough so he could let down the gate with a loud thud. I looked back, suddenly feeling like a caged animal. I glanced over at the officer, who had taken back to his post in the small office. I approached him and enquired about where I was. He handed me a brochure and went back to messing with his jacket. I took it gladly and began to pore over, doing my best to a get a bearing of everything around me.

"Hey, watch where you're going, lady!" I heard someone shout and fell back onto the ground. I had been so intently reading the brochure that I had run into someone accidentally. I hurriedly stood up and apologized to them, keeping my eyes on the ground. I heard an exasperated sigh and looked them straight on. They seemed to feel uncomfortable under my gaze and looked away. I held out my hand and introduced myself, waiting for him to do the same. Since he obviously wasn't going to, I dropped my hand to my side and huffed, turning to walk off.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I'm just not very good at socializing," he said, grabbing a hold of my wrist. I turned back to him and noticed how lonesome he seemed. His bright red hair hid one of his eyes, which glared back a bright gold. I stared at him for a while, and then smiled wide at his red face.

"If you're so bad at socializing, then how about I help you out?" I said stepping forward. He seemed to not be very accustomed to bold woman and looked down at the ground. I heard a muffled answer from him and clapped a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to jerk his head up. I smirked at him and took him by the wrist. I was about to walk off when I stopped short and turned back to him. He gave a confused look and I stared for a while.

"Where's your house?" I asked grandly, trying to hide my obvious lack of knowledge of where everything was. He laughed loudly all of a sudden and led me the other way of which I was headed. I laughed along with him and kept up the conversation for him. It was great to be in the company of someone who wasn't out to get me, but I knew it wouldn't last. At that thought, I suddenly went quiet and looked down at the ground sadly. I felt him tug on my arm and I let his wrist go, coming to stop in front of his house, which stood away from all the other houses, near a small lake within the walls of the town. I stared at it sadly and looked back over to the red-head as he cleared his throat.

"Is something wrong? You went really quiet all of a sudden," he said softly, leading me into his house. I shook my head and went to seat myself on a chair in his living room. He gave me a concerned glance and went to the kitchen to get some snacks. I suddenly felt even worse, knowing I wouldn't be able to eat anything he gave to me. After he came back into the living room and set down a tray of cookies, he sat down in a chair across from me and stared in silence, willing me to spill everything. I quickly cracked under his gaze and shot up from my seat.

"Hey, what-" I cut him off quickly, collapsing into him and crying out into his shirt. He was obviously caught off guard and seemed to be contemplating what to do, but decided to embrace me as I let out all my woes into his chest as I sat on his lap. I knew I couldn't even let out a small tear, but felt as if I was drenching him in tears. I quickly let go of his shoulders and attempted to get up, but was forced back into his lap as he hugged me close.

"It's okay, just let it all out," he whispered to me, staring into my face. I smiled warmly at him and began to explain all that had happened to me. He was obviously shocked at the thought of me being a zombie, but accepted it as truth and continued to hold onto me as I gestured away my story. A while after I started, I quickly became quieter and quieter, almost whispering the last of my story. He continued to stare at me and I continued to become progressively quieter, until I had finished my story and looked back at him. His face showed his concern for me, but his words felt harsh.

"So, why did you come here? Why risk everyone here just so you can go on a small quest?" he seemed to stare into my soul and turned away from him. Untangling myself from him, I stood up and went to the door and opened it slowly. I was almost about to step forward, out into the harsh world I had come to know, when the door was suddenly slammed shut and I was pinned against it, facing the dark, oak door. I heard a growl next to my ear and resisted the urge to fling him off of me. I turned myself around the best I could and faced him as much as I could.

"Nova, I never asked you to leave," he said hugging me tightly. I felt warmth on my shoulder and saw a single tear drench that part of my dress. I laughed quietly and shoved him softly. He left go and stepped back, keeping his head turned down. I turned towards him and did my best to calm him.

"I'm sorry, Arus, I didn't mean to worry you, but you're right. I shouldn't have left everyone at my home. I need to go back to them, I can't leave them in the possession of that horrid scientist," I said with conviction. He looked up at me and smiled brightly.

"Alright, then I'm coming with you. You need someone to protect you, right? Just because you're strong doesn't mean they can't overwhelm you," he stated matter-of-factly. I nodded and we set out to leave town. The officer at the entrance was kind enough to hold open the gate long enough for Arus' car to get out and race down the road, back home. I hadn't known him long, but I knew I could trust him. I needed someone there so I wouldn't crack under pressure and do something stupid. 'I'm sorry, Shiki, but I'm coming back. I shouldn't have wasted your energy to get me out of there,' I thought, staring out at the countryside as night fell.

"We're here," Arus said, pulling into town. Everyone was asleep, but it was apparent that Lerus and his men were still around. I saw some of their trucks scattered around and did my best to disguise myself in the darkness. We pulled up to my house and I hopped out. I ran quickly up to the door and flung it open, ripping the lock out in the process. I looked around, trying to find Seref and rummaging around in every room.

"No, he isn't here!" I yelled out, slamming my fists into the wall. Arus had been outside keeping watch, but had raced in here when he heard me yell. He took me by the hand and led me back to the car. After revving it up and backing out of the driveway, I decided to lead him to the cliff path I had fallen to my death from. He parked his car in the forest at the bottom of the cliff and we climbed up, straight to the hot spring house, not wanting to risk the path. When we got there, I thankfully heard a small voice much like Seref's.

Unfortunately, after I had run into the house, I felt a sharp prick in my left shoulder and heard a laugh, which was I had first thought was Seref, but turned out to be a lackey pretending. I cursed to myself and put a hand on my shoulder, feeling the blood pour out of the wound. I heard a yell from outside and quickly ran to where Arus was supposed to be, though I couldn't find him anywhere. I called out into the darkness, but heard no reply, only the shuffling of feet coming from behind me. The lackey seemed to think I would too panicked to notice his clumsy footsteps, but thought wrong, as I whirled around slammed my fist square into his face. He fell to the ground, not having even put up a fight. I could still move my left arm, since he had apparently had very lousy aim, not severing any muscles.

"Arus! Hey, where are you?" I called out into the darkness yet again, hoping for an answer this time. I suddenly heard a gut-wrenching squelch and looked down at the hydrangea field. My eyes went wide in horror as I looked down at the open stomach of my previously living friend. He had been thrown from the cliff, having had his stomach open from top to bottom, much like I had. I slid down the cliff, getting a serious case of deja-vu as I reached his lifeless corpse. I heard a low laugh from deep within the forest and glared back at the man who stepped from its depths. I clenched my fist, almost hard enough to draw blood and gritted my teeth.

"Hello, my dear specimen! It is I, Lerus, your dear savior in this unsavory world!" he exclaimed loudly, holding his arms up to the sky. He looked at me with wide, bloodshot eyes and smiled crazily, much like how I must have looked at the last stroke for my father. I glared at him with pure hatred and he laughed grandly.

"Yes, girl, hate me, loath me! Do everything within your power to kill and hate, like you once did!" At that last line, my face cleared and I stared at him, confused. 'How did he know that I inherited my mother's insanity? Unless…'

"Yes, my dear! I am the one and only! Your father who you tried so hard to kill! I have been revived and enlisted in bringing you in for your final trial to the grand gates of Hell!" he yelled into the air, laughing crazily. I stared at him in both fear and hatred. This man, who was once my father, had been brought back to life, much like I had, and had gone crazy with fear and hate. He was here to bring me to justice, just as I had done to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"My dear, where are you going?" he sneered at me. I had slowly been backing away, carrying Arus on my back. The moment he advanced one step I whirled around and sped up the cliff. I heard him yell in happiness and begin to clomp his way around to the path up the cliff. I had run all the way up the cliff and turned just in time to see him on the path below me, about to climb up. I smiled psychotically and gently laid Arus on the ground next to me. I grabbed one of the larger rocks at the edge of where I stood.

"Now you'll know how I felt when your dear wife destroyed my life!" I yelled down at him, raising the boulder above my head. That one line made him stop and stare at me just long enough for me to throw the boulder with all my strength at his head. I hadn't calculated correctly, though, thinking the same that had happened to me would happen to me, but I was wrong. The rock I'd thrown was far heavier than the one mother had rained upon me.

I heard the crunch of bone and the squelch of meat, but the smell was drowned out by the hydrangeas. I looked down at the corpse of my father, his head crushed into bits by the large rock. The red stained the ground and side of the cliff, having almost reached my feet. It was soon washed away by the rain, as if being purged. I could only stand there and look at the death I had caused again. I turned and picked Arus back up from off the ground and went to my house, slowly becoming drenched in that god-forsaken rain.

Setting Arus down on the couch, I walked into the kitchen to find the potion. I had been walking slowly the whole time, the rain had let up, and the moon was straight above. I found the potion in the top cupboard and poured a small bit of it into a glass, putting the rest of the bottle in my waist satchel. I dragged my feet all the way back into the living room, debating whether or not I wanted to do this before coming to a stop beside Arus.

"I suppose…I should just go ahead…it would be a horrible thing to not at least give him another chance," I whispered ever so slowly. I lowered myself to my knees, held Arus up with one arm, and poured the potion into his mouth, closing it afterwards to make it drip down his throat. After I was certain he'd taken it, I laid him back down and stood up. I placed the glass on the coffee table and sat down in the recliner, waiting for him to awaken.

"Ugh, my head," I heard a low moan from the couch. I looked up with dead eyes, succumbed by an unknown emotion, and kept quiet as Arus slowly hoisted himself up on his elbows. He placed a hand on his forehead and sat up fully, leaning back against the couch. He looked up and saw me, staring back blankly, causing him to jump a little. He smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. He looked down as he attempted to get up and froze.

He was lucky enough to not have his intestines hanging out like mine had, but he was still just as bloody. He had a gash running horizontally across the middle of his stomach, with a gut-wrenching smell wafting from it. He jerked his head up to look at me with a terrified look. I got up slowly and went around to him. I'd grabbed the sewing materials and the disinfectant so I could clean his wound. He watched me the whole while that I cleaned and closed his scar the best I could.

"Nova," I glanced up at him to see a sad look in his eyes. I nodded, knowing what he was going to ask. I couldn't say anything to ease his worries, knowing all I could do was give him physical comfort. I had been looking around while he was still dead, trying to find Seref or Shiki. I had found Shiki, but I had been too late and went around destroying everything I found.

The entire town had been evacuated, so it was desolate, but there was one body I'd found. Shiki was lying in one of the neighboring houses, his face was crushed in and his limbs lay in odd angles. There was a metal pipe lying next to him, probably from under the sink, and there were pieces of meat flung all around his corpse. My father was certainly the one who did it, since he had gotten ahold of the potion from Shiki, something I found out a while later. He crushed his head, keeping me from being able to use the potion on him and making me fall even deeper into depression.

I told Arus all of this after a few minutes of silence, but told him I had no idea where Seref was. Arus hugged me tightly and left the house, possibly to go look for him while I relaxed here. It was a few hours later when I heard a thump in front of the house. I rushed outside to see Arus had fallen over while he was stumbling about. I went down and helped him up, seeing blood and dirt on his hands and chest. I brought him to his feet and he couldn't even look at me. He simply took my hand and dragged me to the hydrangea field, near the back of it. In front of us stood two gravestones, with the field behind them, giving off a great feeling of peace.

"You found his body?" I asked quietly, kneeling down in front of Seref and Shiki's graves. They had been made with such care; I could tell Arus did his best to make them the best he could. He walked up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I stood up and buried myself in his shirt, mourning the deaths which I had been unable to prevent. He held me close and gazed into the sky, doing the same as I. I could only think of my stupidity, all the unfortunate things I had brought upon everyone.

"Why? Why did I run? Why did I leave behind everyone I loved? I should never have helped with that potion, that damned potion that's brought so much unhappiness to this place! Why?! Why didn't anyone stop me or help me?!" I screamed out into the air, collapsing in front of the graves. I screamed and screamed, cursing myself and tearing up the grass underneath me. Arus grabbed my hand in mid-air and held there as I lost all my strength. I looked up at Arus and smiled, silently thanking him for stopping my tantrum.

Standing up, I grabbed his hand in mine and gazed one last time at the graves of those I'd loved in my past life. We left shortly after gathering up bags of hydrangea leaves and taking some seeds to plant wherever we went next. I smiled gently at Arus as he opened his car door and climbed in, shutting the door quietly. He climbed in next to me and started up the car, backing out of the forest and driving off into the distance. I glanced back only once to see the town fading away into the distance, taking all of the memories of those people who once lived there happily along with it.

"Where should we go now?" Arus asked as I turned to look at him. He was focused squarely on the road, but he was relaxed as we drove along the country road. I took the map out of the glove box and stared at it for a while before smiling wide. I gave him the map and pointed where it is that we would go next, making him smile as well. He placed the map on the dashboard to where he could glance at it and drove off to our next destination. I leaned back in my seat and stared out the window at the beautiful land expanding farther and farther as we drove. I closed my eyes and thought of where it was we were going, knowing that we would have a grand time and make great new memories.

'Perhaps, I can move on from all of this once I've had many new experiences. I hope that one day I can see Shiki and Seref once again, maybe even in the heaven that I hope exists,' I thought to myself as I held onto Arus' hand. We smiled at each other looked forward, onto a new life for ourselves, knowing that, whatever may happen, we would be there for each other.

End?


End file.
